The Hawke's Bay 'underdog' building the best family boat in New Zealand

Machina Supply Co co-founder Lee Cummings with the award winning Model 551 boat. Photo / Warren Buckland

A Hawke's Bay boat design firm has won a national award for their work.

Machina Supply Co took home a prestigious Boat of the Show Award in the All Purpose Family Boat Up To Six Metres category.

The winning vessel is a custom-made, 5.5m-long aluminium pontoon boat, known as Model 551.

Lee Cummings, who co-founded Machina Supply Co three years ago, said the open cabin boat has a fold-down top to allow easy towing and storage.

The Boat of the Show Awards were held on May 15 at Auckland's Alexandra Park.

The winning vessel is a custom-made, 5.5m-long aluminium pontoon boat, known as Model 551. Photo / Warren Buckland

Cummings said the award was a total shock to the relatively new Havelock North-based business.

"It wasn't something that we were gunning for, but it's pretty neat to see that our design has been recognised," he said.

"We're probably what you'd have called the underdog with a very small crew. It's myself, my wife, my uncle and two boat builders."

The "close-knit" business uses a family property on an orchard near Havelock North to build the boats – something the business has done for only 18 months.

"We've never won anything like this – we're pretty new to all this. From what we've heard, it's one of the most prestigious awards in the marine industry.

"The first year and half was working through the design concepts and setting up the workshop so when the time came, we had a facility to make the boats."

Cummings said the company, who made seven boats in 2020, is forecasting to make seven or eight boats a year in the future.

He said the company aims to break away from the current trend of cheap, low quality products by fusing together a mix of traditional methods and modern technology.

"Our range of boats are an adaptation of the pontoon boats that everyone sees on the market.

"What we've done is design a pontoon boat that doesn't look like one – we're just trying to create something new."